Never Enough
by Cho Koume
Summary: Now that Ed and Al are in the other world, beyond the gate, Ed's past can finally be left behind, right? A cute brotherly scene no yaoi. XP


Never Enough 

A shining sun;

A day of fun

Two children

run right along home.

Back from the shop,

A sudden stop;

Two baskets drop,

And it had begun.

They waited,

They watched;

Light surrounded mom,

And then she was gone.

This was the start of everything. This was before war, before evil, before soldiers, and before Al was thrust into darkness. Ed did what he could, but in the end, he felt it was never good enough. He bound his brother to a suit of armor, kept him alive, but though he sacrificed more, it was the best he could do. It was that night which haunted the elder brother's dreams, constantly. It came at him at night as he closed his eyes to sleep, and during the day, as he watched the pain in his younger brother grow.

Of course, when he finally had the chance to save the boy, he didn't hesitate at all. He gave up everything, and saved him. But by that time, Ed had almost wished for death, as he had expected. But no; instead, he was thrust into a world too similar to his own, and forced to watch the life of a young man like his brother. Even in that place without Alphonse Elric, Edward was in pain and misery, and his sins continued to haunt him.

--

2 years later, not even a full year since Ed and Al were brought together again in the new world, the younger lad was still readjusting to normal life. His body was flesh and bone again, and was far more fragile than before, as he again noticed as he turned a page to a book he was reading.

"Ow!"

Ed was always alert, Al had noticed, so when he let out a small yelp of pain, the other's head whipped around, hair almost hitting him in the face. Al had his finger in his mouth, Ed saw, as he came to stand beside the other.

"Al!"

"I'm okay, brother…"

Al smiled up, and took his finger out of his mouth to show his brother.

"I only cut myself on the page, is all!"

He heard the deep exhale of breath as Edward calmed himself, and almost immediately felt bad for worrying him. But, Ed was a tough guy, and at times, his mothering could get a little out of control. Ed was still staring at Al, and the younger kept his smile up and went back to looking at his book.

"Ha ha… I guess I should be a little more careful, huh? I had just gotten so used to being invincible, that, well…"

Ed knew what he was talking about. Before, there was very little that could harm his brother, and though it was uncomfortable ad unfair for him, Ed had gotten used to it. Besides, he, and what he did, was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. Automail, also, had an advantage, in the sense that they made him stronger, and also more impervious to harm. Though, in the other world, he soon became unable to care for them, and returned to using the artificial limbs. They caused him a bit more pain on an everyday basis, but they made him feel more normal, and they served as a reminder of what he had done.

For some reason, he hadn't noticed that his brother was still talking, but as Ed tried to keep up with the one-sided conversation, he realized that he had gotten too far lost to understand. He almost smiled to himself, watching his brother chat away like a normal boy. Edward watched the motion of his lips, the very slight changes in his expressions, and the shimmer in his eyes, and before he knew it… he had his arms around him. Al jumped at the sudden contact, and looked up.

"Ed? …Ed, what is it?"

"I'm sorry…"

"What?" Ed paused a moment before shaking his head lightly, tickling the back of Al's neck.

"I never…"

"Hmm?"

"I never held you enough. Al… If there was one thing more I should have done for you, this would be it."

Al was touched. Ed always was a bit on the dramatic side, but in this case, he didn't mind. Al had to admit, he liked being hugged. It reminded him that he wasn't metal, anymore. He was a human being.

"That's okay, brother… we've got our whole lives to make up for it!"

Owari.


End file.
